Frank Vignola & Pasquale Grasso

The incredible guitarist Frank Vignola teams up with rising jazz guitar star Pasquale Grasso to create an unique and intimate musical experience unlike any other. Frank Vignola is one of the most extraordinary guitarists performing before the public today. His stunning virtuosity has made him the guitarist of choice for many of the world’s top musicians, including Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, John Lewis, Tommy Emmanuel, Lionel Hampton, the Boston Pops, the New York Pops, and guitar legend Les Paul, who named Vignola to his “Five Most Admired Guitarists List” for the Wall Street Journal. Vignola’s dynamic, genre-spanning music has brought him to 21 countries on three continents. He’s performed in some of the world’s most illustrious venues, including the Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall, The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, New York’s Lincoln Center, The Blue Note, and the world’s oldest indoor concert hall, Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Italy. Vignola has recorded over 30 CD’s as a leader and has been a guest on hundreds of recordings. To share his expertise with the world, Vignola has written over 18 educational music books and created other educational material, reaching thousands of jazz guitar enthusiasts throughout the globe. Currently, Vignola holds residency every Wednesday night at the world famous Birdland Jazz Club Theatre in New York City. “Frank Vignola’s Guitar Night” has featured some of the finest talent on the planet including Mike Stern, Peter Bernstein, Houston Person, and Pasquale Grasso. In 2016, Pasquale Grasso received the kind of endorsement most rising guitarists can only dream of when Pat Metheny was asked to name impressive younger musicians in an interview for Vintage Guitar Magazine. “The best guitar player I’ve heard in maybe my entire life is floating around now, Pasquale Grasso,” said the jazz-guitar icon and NEA Jazz Master. “This guy is doing something so amazingly musical and so difficult… He’s the most significant new guy I’ve heard in many, many years.” Born in Italy and now based in New York City, Grasso has developed an astounding technique informed by bebop pioneers like Bud Powell, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie. His digital-only EP series showcases Grasso in the solo-guitar format, where his intensive studies of both midcentury jazz and classical meld into a signature mastery that is both unprecedented and evocative. His innovative style is hypnotizing to watch as his nimble fingers appear to change the six guitar strings into 88 piano keys. Important Information: Season Tickets Go On Sale: June 22 | 10 AM – Director-Level Members & Above June 29 | 10 AM – All Members July 6 | 10 AM – General Public *Price includes MBT’s Historic Venue Operations fee. This fee is waived for MBT Members and the discount will be applied in their shopping cart.